Welcome to our Neighborhood Church Leadership Course. I am so excited that you have chosen to take this step to grow as a leader. My hope is that these lessons will guide you to becoming a better leader, not only in our church but in all areas of your life. These sessions have been designed to help you grow in your love for God and neighbors together; even more specifically to help you lead others to grow in their love for God and others.
A cusp is defined as a point of transition between two different states. As leaders, we are constant learners, and as we attempt to do more, we are developing from our wins and our losses. The aim here is to be proactive and intentional with our growth. My hope is that in the season of this course, you will be on the cusp of something new and greater for the Kingdom of God. May your personal relationship with Him grow as you spend time in His Word and this content, and may your personal ministry grow as you act on His commands and the prompts of the Holy Spirit. In my experience, as you grow as a leader, God will often grow your confidence in Him and give you even more opportunities to lead. It is this dependence on God and a life marked with humility and service, that Jesus modeled, and God wants to establish in you. - Pastor Dave -
For each session there will be 4 components:
Current Reality
Understanding the Bible
Summary Teaching
Personal Challenge
There will be 10 sessions/weeks in this course that are broken down into 3 categories based on our mission statement and core values. Loving God (Be), and our neighbors (Bless), together (Belong). Each session will take between 1-2 hours for you to read the passages, the teaching, and to write your answers. The goal is not to complete each lesson as fast as possible but for you to grow as a leader. I want to encourage you to schedule some time each week to sit down with Jesus, your Bible, and your computer to give focus to your own leadership development.
There will be 4 times we will all gather together in person or online to introduce a section, discuss what you are learning, ask questions, and group coach one another. You will be paired with another person in your Leadership Course class (“Peer Coaching”) to process your work each week that we do not meet all together.
Course Schedule
Week 0 - Receive your Digital Login to Pathwright (this online software)
Week 1 - Session #1 - Set up peer coaching
(All Group Gathering - Review Session 1 and introduce BE Sessions)
BE
Week 2 - Session #2 - (peer coaching)
Week 3 - Session #3 - (peer coaching)
Week 4 - Session #4 - (peer coaching)
(All Group Gathering - Review BE Sessions and introduce BLESS Sessions)
BLESS
Week 5 - Session #5 - (peer coaching)
Week 6 - Session #6 - (peer coaching)
Week 7 - Session #7 - (peer coaching)
(All Group Gathering - Review BLESS Sessions and introduce BELONG Sessions)
BELONG
Week 8 - Session #8 - (peer coaching)
Week 9 - Session #9 - (peer coaching)
Week 10 - Session #10 - (peer coaching)
(All Group Gathering - Review BELONG Sessions and Final Thoughts)
If you have any questions about the technical part of this course, please email davepartin@gmail.com for help.
1.1 - What makes a person a leader?
They will have followers. They will have a balance of passion and clarity. They will often have the ability to attract community due to enjoyment, meeting a need, or fighting for a cause. They will possibly be able to entertain others through humor or show intelligence in a shared field of study.
1.2 - In what 3 environments do you excel as a leader and why?
1.3 - What are 3 areas or skills do you need to grow in as a leader and why?
Read the passage below a couple of times and answer the following questions.
Colossians 2:6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
1.4 - What are your initial thoughts as you read this passage?
1.5 - In light of this passage, why does Paul encourage the Colossians to grow?
The world will lie to us, and we will sadly build our foundation on the sand that will destroy us.
1.6 - Copy/Paste 3 other passages from the Bible that encourage maturity and growth.
God Causes the Growth
1 Cor 3:7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
Leaders are given to help others grow
Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Mature people push toward the Goal of the upward call of God
Phil 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
When you receive Jesus as your Lord, you are committing to a life of humble dependency on God. You have been crucified with Christ and no longer live because Christ now lives in you. This is living a life that is walking with Jesus. His step is your step. And when you get out of step, you repent and believe the Gospel. We are also going to use the analogy of growth as compared to a tree. A tree has roots, a trunk, branches, and fruit, and is found in an orchard.
It is this tree analogy that will guide our discussion through this Leadership Course. Let’s look at this passage again and look at it through the lens of a Seeker to a Leader as a growing discipleship process.
Colossians 2:6-7 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught.
As a LEADER, one will not only be growing their own roots, tree, and fruit but constantly considering the multiplication of the orchard around them. The church belongs together, grows together, and helps hold one another up.
It is essential that Leaders daily walk with Jesus and develop themselves, but it is also helping others grow that sets them apart for leadership. Jesus did not just tell his disciples to be good followers by solely obeying commands. He told his disciples to go and make more disciples, teaching them to obey Jesus’ commands as well.
1.7 - How are you wanting to grow as a leader through this course?
I want to make some leadership goals and follow through with them. I want to be better for me and for others. I would like to grow in my spiritual leadership in the home as well.
1.8 - Write out a prayer asking God to help you grow as a leader.
God, I pray that through this course I will seek you and rely on you. I hope to become an amazing leader for my family and church. I know that my personal faith and growth is key to anything that I might even consider giving away to others. Make me more like you and allow me to be faithful the calling you have given to me.
End of Session #1
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